Top 12 Moments From Grant Morrison's Batman Run

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The first truth of Morrison is that he really gets Batman.

By Jesse Schedeen

Hot on the heels of Geoff Johns' departing Green Lantern, Grant Morrison delivered his final word on Batman in last week's Batman Incorporated #13. It's been a long, strange, and extremely memorable saga of time travel, demons, rising and falling empires, and Bat-Cows.

Just as we did for Johns' GL run, we've selected our favorite moments from the past seven years of Morrison's Batman work. Even at 12 picks and an honorable mention, this was a very difficult list to narrow down, so let us know your favorite moments too!

Of course, if you haven't read Morrison's Batman up to and including Batman Incorporated #13 from last week, there are probably spoilers below.

There was a time when every superhero was expected to have an entire family of sidekicks and a menagerie of costumed pets. As with many other goofy elements of Batman's past, Morrison (with a little help from Peter Tomasi) brought back the costumed pets with a vengeance. Tomasi introduced a new Bat-Hound named Titus in the pages of Batman and Robin, while Morrison countered with an entirely new sort of Bat-critter - the Bat-Cow.

Bat-Cow certainly enjoyed a memorable debut in the first issue of the relaunched Batman Incorporated. Batman and Robin chased a gang of would-be assassins in goat masks through a slaughterhouse. Bathed and blood and fed up with the chase, Damian renounced eating meat and promptly adopted a cow with a conveniently bat-shaped pattern on its face. From there, Bat-Cow enjoyed a recurring cameo role in the series, munching on hay and snoozing happily with Titus and Alfred the Bat-kitten.

As much as Morrison worked to modernize aspects of Batman's Silver Age history in this run, Bat-Cow was proof that he was also willing to fully embrace the goofiness of yesteryear.

Short of Batman and Damian's death scenes, no character death in the course of Morrison's run hit quite as hard as the Knight's (read our obituary). Knight and Squire were regular guest stars throughout this saga, reminding readers long before Batman Incorporated was christened that there were other heroes across the globe ready and willing to continue Batman's crusade. Thanks to Morrison (with a lot of help from Paul Cornell), Knight and Squire were elevated from forgotten relics to a compelling new Dynamic Duo.

And that's why Knight's death in Batman Incorporated #6 was so tragic. Morrison faked out readers by first seeming to kill off Squire, only to grant her a second lease on life when her partner restarted her heart. But no sooner had he saved Beryl than Cyril was killed by the hulking monster known as the Heretic. It was the latest salvo in a war that would only grow increasingly more bloody.

But rather than honor that moment, memorable as it was, we prefer to look to the aftermath. Beryl returned to the forefront several issues later. As the rest of England mourned a fallen hero, she donned the helmet of her late mentor and crowned herself the new Knight. And her new partner is none other than Australian hero Dark Ranger, himself struggling to carry on the legacy of a fallen mentor. We don't know what plans DC has for this new pairing, but we hope Knight and Ranger prove to be as winning a combination as Knight and Squire.

It can be tough to introduce new comic book characters at all, much less ones that stick around and have a lasting impact on a franchise. Particularly with Batman comics, many readers only want to see the usual list of A-List villains - your Jokers, Riddlers, Poison Ivys, and so forth. But while Morrison dabbled with several major villains during the course of his run, he also created countless new foes for Gotham's heroes to contend with. And none made a more memorable entrance than Professor Pyg.

Though Pyg technically debuted as a dead body in the flash-forward issue Batman #666, his real first appearance was in the opening story arc of Batman and Robin. Morrison fully established the villain's particular brand of mental instability in issue #3 as Pyg gyrated and ranted in front of a captured Robin. We assume "Goodbye Horses" was playing on his iPod, because it was a scene straight out of Silence of the Lambs. And the entire scene was made all the more psychedelic by Frank Quitely's artwork. Rarely during the course of his run were Morrison and his artist more in tune with one another.

Robin may not have been afraid, but we certainly were. And we credit this scene and others like it for elevating Pyg to become one of the newest regular members of Batman's rogues gallery.

"Starting today, we fight ideas with better ideas. The idea of crime with the idea of Batman."

There were a number of eerie similarities between Morrison's Batman and Ed Brubaker's Captain America runs. Both involved former sidekicks who returned from the dead (though it was Judd Winick who actually brought back Jason Todd). Both saw the lead hero seemingly killed and pulled through time, forcing another to take over his mantle. And both had that lead hero, just before returning to the present, encounter a vision of a hellish future he was determined to prevent.

But Batman went about fighting the future a little differently from Captain America. No sooner did he return to the present and defeat Doctor Hurt in Batman and Robin #16 than he called a press conference to announce one of the biggest developments in Gotham's history. He outed himself as Batman's financial backer and revealed that he was taking the crusade global. The goal was for every country to have its own equivalent to Batman and Robin so that the idea of Batman could grow to defeat the idea of crime all over the world.

Obviously, the one act set the stage for the final two years of Morrison's run. Other writers would have simply quit while they were on top. With the Doctor Hurt/Black Glove conflict finally over, it was was exciting to see Morrison diving into completely fresh territory again.

8

The Clown at Midnight

Morrison barely made it a few pages into his first issue of Batman before doing the unthinkable and having Joker be shot in the head by a rogue GCPD officer in a Batman costume. At the time, it wasn't clear whether Joker had actually died from his injuries. But Batman #663 showed the character's true fate. Barely able to speak after massive amounts of facial reconstructive surgery, Joker entered a new phase in his constant evolution. He attempted to wipe out all old ties to Gotham so that he could re-emerge as "The Clown at Midnight."

Joker didn't leave as strong an impression as we would have liked in that issue, mainly due to his lack of dialogue and the awkward CG artwork. But Morrison more than made up for that when Joker returned during the Batman R.I.P. storyline. His transformation complete, Joker proved to be more terrifying than ever. His new look was characterized by facial scars and a slit, snake-like tongue. Even the lettering, with its harsh font and lack of capitalization and punctuation, conveyed just how different the new Joker was. But he was also the X-factor in the conflict. Though the various Black Glove members worshiped him as a god, Joker rebuked their affections. As ever, Batman was the only one who mattered to him.

Joker's transformation into "The Clown at Midnight" played into the concept of super-sanity, a notion Morrison first floated with his 1989 Arkham Asylum graphic novel. Joker's super-sanity caused him to regularly shift between personalities, explaining why sometimes he was a playful jester and other times a bloodthirsty killer. And these transformations continued beyond RIP. When Joker next revealed himself towards the end of Batman and Robin, he had been disguised as costumed detective Oberon Sexton, a facade he used to hunt down and kill the Black Glove one by one even as he aided the Dynamic Duo in investigating the murders. Anything for a laugh.

7

The Third Ghost of Batman

Released 2008

As seen in: Batman Vol. 1 #674

"They poured hot glue into my brother's eyes... carved obscenities into my sister's flesh... so I could be driven by demons, just like you."

One of the early conflicts that dominated Morrison's run in its early years was the emergence of the "Three Ghosts of Batman." Far from being messengers imparting Christmas wisdom, these characters were former GCPD officers who volunteered for a program to create a team of replacement Batmen in case the original ever disappeared or died. But with the fiendish Doctor Hurt in charge of the program, these new Batmen were anything but noble. It was a conspiracy within the police department that even Commissioner Gordon knew nothing about.

The first ghost debuted in the very first issue, shooting and seriously wounding the Joker. The second was discovered in the slums of Gotham, hulked out on a cocktail of Venom and Monster Serum. But it was the third ghost who left the biggest impression. After first appearing via flash-forward in Batman #666's nightmare future, he debuted in the present just prior to Batman R.I.P. His creepy uniform and bloody torture chamber immediately established him as a villain to be reckoned with in a way his two comrades weren't.

As Batman sat strapped in a chair and recovered from his near-fatal cardiac arrest, he learned the full truth of Hurt's Batman program. The third ghost revealed himself as Michael Lane. Lane had emerged as the ideal candidate except for one crucial flaw - he lacked the driving tragedy that shaped the original. So Hurt solved the dilemma by having Lane's family tortured and killed. The Devil had found his Anti-Christ.

6

Gotham's Hellish Future

Released 2007

As seen in: Batman Vol. 1 #666

"These are strange times to be alive, Alfred. The Devil in blazing June. The Demon Star at Zenith. And nothing but good news on TV."

Back in the summer of 2007, both DC's Batman and Superman titles reached the ominous #666 milestone. Both books celebrated the occasion by presenting a hell-themed adventure for their heroes. But whereas Superman #666 was a mere done-in-one tale, Batman #666 eventually proved to be one of the single most crucial chapters of Morrison's entire run.

This issue offered readers their first glimpse of an older Damian Wayne serving as Batman in a time when the literal Devil had apparently taken roost in Gotham. As Damian clashed with the Anti-Christ (later revealed to be the Third Ghost of Batman), we learned that he took on the role of Batman after his father's death. We also learned that Damian made a deal with the Devil, offering up his own soul for the preservation of Gotham. It was a sharp 180 from the haughty, arrogant youngster readers had only just encountered the previous year.

Though captivating in its own right, it's only in hindsight that we know just how much material Morrison was teasing in this one issue. He seeded upcoming villains like Professor Pyg and the Third Ghost of Batman. He referenced the status quo of Batman Incorporated more than three years before it became a reality. And the issue offered a glimpse of what would transpire if Batman ultimately failed in his mission to redeem his son. Luckily, he didn't, though the cost was Damian's life. But we can still look forward to a return to this hellish version of Batman as Andy Kubert preps the Damian: Son of Batman mini-series.

5

The Past Is a Weapon

Released 2006-2013

As seen in: Various

"Omega 'tailor-makes' an unbeatable 'life trap' just for you! It uses 'history' to do it."

One of the elements that characterized Morrison's run early on was the use of forgotten or long-dormant plot points from various Golden and Silver Age comics. To Morrison, all of Batman's colorful and varied history happened, Crises be damned. So it was that Morrison's stories began referencing characters like Bat-Mite and the original Batwoman and oddball scenarios like Batman's encounter with the alien Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. All of these events were recorded in Batman's Black Casebook - a diary of unsolved mysteries and unexplained oddities.

But Morrison didn't simply dredge up the past for kicks. He frequently re-imagined these classic stories in a way that fit within a more modern context. Many of these strange events were presented as hallucinations Batman experienced within an isolation chamber as he struggled to understand the fractured psyche of the Joker. The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh turned out to be a repressed personality Batman created within his own mind as a fail-safe against a psychological shutdown. When the Black Glove struck their crippling blow, it was this personality that took over and allowed him to regroup. Tagging along for the ride was Bat-Mite, now cast as Batman's helpful guide through his own subconscious.

Seeing these various Golden and Silver Age elements crop up during Morrison's run was one of its highlights. But it wasn't until Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne that Morrison's true purpose became clear. As Batman journeyed through the past and into the very edge of the future, he was chased by a Hyper-Adapter, a weapon of Apokolips and a parting gift from Darkseid. The Hyper-Adapter literally mined pieces of Batman's past, turning them into weapons against him. So in a sense, the classic, innocent Batman stories of yore were perverted and transformed into new challenges for Batman to contend with at varying points in his life.

4

The New Dynamic Duo

Released 2008-2009

As seen in: Batman Vol. 1 #676, Batman and Robin Vol. 1 #3

"You're wrong! Batman and Robin will never die!"

As Batman R.I.P. opened, readers weren't sure what to expect. Would the story culminate in Bruce Wayne's literal death? Would DC even allow Morrison to kill Batman in the same year The Dark Knight had made him more popular than ever with casual audiences? There were many questions, and only this opening page in Batman #676 offered a glimpse of a post-R.I.P. future.

But once RIP and and Final Crisis wrapped up, Batman's fate was more clear. He wasn't dead, but he was so far out of reach to his friends and allies that he might as well have been. That forced Dick Grayson to do something he never imagined himself doing again - donning the mantle of Batman. Joining him was Damian Wayne, as headstrong as ever, but now determined to honor his father's legacy. The first adventure featuring this new Dynamic Duo was easily one of the highlights of Morrison's entire run, if not the single best story. It established a new tone for Gotham that was as wacky as it was sinister. And it firmly established the new relationship between Batman and Robin, one far more chaotic and unpredictable than ever before.

And at the end of Batman and Robin #3, Morrison circled around to return to the pivotal first page of R.I.P. Dick and Damian made it abundantly clear that Gotham would never be without a Batman.

Batman had quite an unusual journey in 2009 and 2010. While his former ward Dick and son Damian were busy parading about as the new Batman and Robin, Bruce was stuck in a madcap journey through time. Darkseid's Omega Beams hadn't broiled him to a crisp, as first assumed, but instead rocketed him back to the prehistoric days of Anthro and Vandal Savage. The mini-series Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne chronicled his journey through the Gothams of several different eras, where he battled Blackbeard and Jonah Hex and eventually wound up at the very edge of time and space.

What readers learned by the end was that Darkseid had turned Batman into a ticking time bomb as his final revenge. Each new jump through time further charged his body with Omega Energy. By the time Batman returned to the 21st Century, the resulting build-up would cause him to explode, decimating the entire universe. Cue the Hyper-Adapter to infest Batman's body and recreate Darkseid in a new host body. Not a bad plan, but Darkseid still managed to underestimate Batman's ingenuity and willpower.

As entertaining as that saga was, the real standout moment came afterward in Batman and Robin #15. Just as Doctor Hurt seemed on the cusp of victory, Bruce emerged from the shadows. It was an immensely satisfying cap to two years' worth of build-up. And it served as another reminder that, no matter the challenge, Batman would always persevere.

"Little man. Can you outrace the Omega Sanction? The death that is life?"

"Try me."

Event comics are all about high stakes and massive spectacle. One of the reasons Final Crisis was so creatively successful is that it had spectacle to spare. In this story, an evil god fell from the heavens and crashed to Earth. The sheer weight of his celestial corpse dragged Earth into a black hole that threatened to tear apart all of existence. What few heroes remained faced an army of billions, all held under the sway of the Anti-Life Equation. Against odds like that, what can one man hope to do to turn the tide?

If he's Batman, he stands up to the god of evil and doesn't blink. Through force of will and years of accumulated trauma, Batman managed to destroy Darkseid's attempts to create an entire clone army of Batmen. He confronted Darkseid, now a decaying, wheezing old man clinging to power, with the same gun Darkseid had used to kill his own son. Batman doesn't use guns, but even he had to make an exception for the end of existence. He mortally wounded Darkseid before being blasted by the Omega Beams. When Superman emerged at the end of Final Crisis #6 with the charred corpse of Batman, it seemed DC had done the unthinkable. Doctor Hurt's prophecy had come true, and Batman was dead.

It would have been a good death. And for about a week, that was what what readers treated it as. But then Final Crisis revealed that Batman wasn't dead after all, merely marooned at the dawn of human existence. Superhero comics are more focused on the journey rather than the destination, and it was clear that Batman's journey had only just begun.

Like many writers, Morrison enjoys narrative symmetry. His Batman run began with the debut of Damian Wayne. Damian's growth from arrogant princeling to selfless hero was one of the primary driving forces of that run. And it ultimately concluded with Damian's tragic death.

His death came at the peak of the war between Batman Incorporated and Talia's Leviathan empire. With Batman temporarily out of the game, it was up to the past and present Robins to hold the line in Gotham. But faced with the Heretic, a brutish, adult-age clone of himself, even Damian couldn't win the day. He endured one savage blow after another, only falling for good after being impaled by a sword.

It wasn't even the death itself that sticks out as much as the pages that led to it. DC had already spoiled the development before the issue even shipped (though to be fair, they were dealing with early online leaks of their own). Whether or not the death was spoiled ahead of time, it was pretty obvious where this issue was leading. But in some ways, that only enhanced the experience. Seeing Damian continue to battle against insurmountable odds reinforced his growth as a hero. His renewed rapport with former partner Dick Grayson was heart-breaking to read.

The death hurt because Morrison managed to remind us just how much Damian had come to matter over the previous seven years. Once again, in an industry where new characters so rarely catch on, Morrison added something to the Batman mythos that left a profound and permanent impact.

Honorable Mention - Batman is Forever

"In a halo of blazing light that seems to complete everything... Old Man passes like a dream. Like smoke. But the fire burns forever."

Technically this last pick doesn't involve any one specific moment, but it's a theme so crucial to Morrison's Batman that we couldn't not include it.

The myth of Prometheus and his gift of fire is one of the most primal stories we have. And it's one that's inspired countless modern tales, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the last two Cormac McCarthy novels. Who doesn't gravitate towards the idea of a handful of idealistic individuals in a world of depravity who continue to carry the torch of reason, morality, and justice? With Final Crisis, Morrison made Batman into a Promethean figure himself. The series ended with Anthro peacefully slipping into death after a long life, still fascinated at the end with the images of heroes and gods he had seen as a boy. And these images didn't die with Anthro. Batman was there to carry the torch and continue the story of heroes. Thanks to him, the fire continued to burn. He seeded the idea of Batman in the earliest days of humanity, and it spread through the Miagani tribe and the early generations of the Wayne family until it took full root in the present.

If Morrison's Batman run is about anything, it's the idea that Batman is eternal. Batman is an idea that arose from one young man's grief - an idea that the worst in mankind can be conquered through sheer will and dedication, so that no one else need suffer his pain and loss. It's an idea so strong that it can't be wiped out. Bruce was routinely tortured, nearly killed, and thrown to the edge of time and back, and yet Batman always endured. It was Batman that allowed him to overcome these challenges in the first place.

The idea of Batman is one that grew far beyond the scope of one man. As Bruce admitted, first in The Return of Bruce Wayne #6 and then in Batman Incorporated #0, "The first truth of Batman is that I was never alone." Even in his darkest moments, Bruce always had men like Alfred and Dick Grayson to help shoulder the burden of the fire. The purpose of Batman Incorporated was to spread the fire across the world. It inspired heroes like Knight and Squire. And as we saw in Batman #700, the idea of Batman persists through time, as men like Damian Wayne, Terry McGinnis, and even the Batman of the year 1,000,000 carry the torch.

Most of all, Morrison established the idea of Batman as a redemptive force. For Damian, the idea of becoming a hero and battling evil proved more captivating than inheriting the world's largest criminal empire. Batman inspired him to become something better than he was, just as it inspired every Robin before him. And though he died in the climax of Morrison's run, Damian ultimately achieved his greatest victory. Rather than grow up to become the corrupt, perverted version of his father seen in Batman #666, Damian sacrificed himself so that the fire could keep burning. The great comfort we can take from the end of Morrison's Batman run is that there will always be a Batman, no matter how dark or strange the world becomes.